No guns, no freedom

When George Washington wrote that "free people ought ... to be armed," he gave us a clue as to the kind of America the Founders envisioned. It was one where the government stayed within its bounds, carrying out its limited duties while leaving the people free to exercise their rights and liberties. Thomas Jefferson spoke to this when he described the "good government" as one that "shall restrain men from injuring one another [and] shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement." In other words, the "good government" is one that enforces the law, thus preserving order, but otherwise remains within the limited parameters established for it, so that people can go about their business, whatever that business may be.